Supercharged with the success of their critically praised debut album, Run Free, independent family music band Animal Farmis ready to take center stage on the national kids' music scene with album number two, We Are One, set for release on August 24, 2018.
The message of
Animal Farm is all about bringing people together through, like Aesop's Fables, the use of animal characters -- whether it's something humorous like a baby bat who is afraid of the dark or something more serious like a monkey witnessing deforestation -- songs that talk about our shared humanity.
Heading up
Animal Farm are Chicago-based musician-educators David Ladon and Seth Adams, who met in 2008 while honing their skills as part of Boston's indie music scene. Driven by a desire to write thoughtful, interesting music for families to enjoy together, they pooled their songwriting and performing talents and began the Animal Farmproject in the winter of 2010.
Notes Seth Adams, "What has kept this project going for more than seven years across two cities is that David and I aren't just creative and business partners, we're best friends who value community, harmony, and the natural world. "
Guided by famed producer Mike Hagler (Wilco, Neko Case),
We Are One draws from a range of influences including rock, jazz, folk, Klezmer, Afro-pop, Latin, and
Tin Pan Alley, to explore themes of social/emotional learning, self-expression, relationships, and community.
The songs are layered, both musically and lyrically, so that younger listeners can sing along to accessible melodies like the chorus of "Awesome Possum" or shout animal noises in "Cranky Pants," while their older siblings can pick up on the complex ideas and sophisticated wordplay embedded in the material.
These
We Are One innovations are illustrated in the first track, "Snow Bird," which employs elegant Afro-pop sounds to tell the story of a penguin "with a yearnin' to roam" to warm destinations like Bali, Morocco, Rio de Janeiro, and Boca Raton. Next up is the '90s rock-influenced "Awesome Possum," the tale of a young critter who saves his family from a menacing wolf by spontaneously breaking into dance. "Slow Down (Snail Song)" is a bit of gastropodic advice to all the fast-paced humans out there: "How can anyone notice this beautiful world if they won't just slow down?" We Are One's title track recapitulates the album's core values: community, harmony, honesty, and self-expression, culminating in an anthem joyfully sung by a crowd of friends from near and far.
We Are One will be available at iTunes, CDBaby, Bandcamp, and other major outlets.
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